 He graduated from Harvard University in 1948 and joined "LIFE" magazine.Champlin was a writer and correspondent for "LIFE" and "TIME" magazine for seventeen years, and was a member of the Overseas Press Club.He joined the "Los Angeles Times" as entertainment editor and columnist in 1965, was its principal film critic from 1967 to 1980, and wrote book reviews and a regular column titled "Critic at Large".